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Ashleigh Gardner, one of many premier all-rounders on the planet, just lately added the mantle of captaincy to her huge repertoire of abilities when she led Gujarat Giants to its best-ever marketing campaign within the ongoing Girls’s Premier League (WPL).
“I was certainly not aspiring to become captain while starting my career,” Gardner admitted, as she nears a decade of taking part in the game professionally. “If that opportunity ever came up, I’d go with it, and it’s a fantastic challenge,” she informed Sportstar, six matches into main the Giants.
GG had completed final in each earlier WPL seasons, however 2025 introduced a turnaround. With three wins to date, the Gardner-led facet ended its four-point droop and sits second within the standings, which, in line with the brand new skipper, is as a result of gamers are lastly beginning to take pleasure in themselves.
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“The first two WPL seasons probably didn’t go the way we would have planned. But looking at the players we have this time around, it just has a different feel about it,” she stated .
“Being able to reset before each game has held us in pretty good stead, knowing that each opponent can be beaten. We’re certainly going in an upwards direction, which is exciting,” stated Gardner, with two matches remaining for the Giants, in opposition to Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.
Though the 27-year-old believes she will study a factor or two from seasoned leaders like Meg Lanning – the Capitals’ skipper – and Alyssa Healy, Gardner stays dedicated to her personal strategy. “Everyone’s got different methods to the way they want to captain, and I hope that I’m kind of taking my own way on it,” she stated.
Ashleigh Gardner (c) of Gujarat Giants delivers a ball throughout match 15 of the Girls’s Premier League 2025 (WPL) between the UP Warriorz and the Gujarat Giants held on the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, India on the third March 2025.
| Picture Credit score:
Sportzpics for WPL
Ashleigh Gardner (c) of Gujarat Giants delivers a ball throughout match 15 of the Girls’s Premier League 2025 (WPL) between the UP Warriorz and the Gujarat Giants held on the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, India on the third March 2025.
| Picture Credit score:
Sportzpics for WPL
True to her phrases, the Australian led by instance from the phrase go, smashing a blistering 79 off 37 balls and taking two key wickets in opposition to Royal Challengers Bengaluru within the season opener in Vadodara, the Giants’ residence floor. Although GG misplaced that high-scoring match, she set the tone for what was to come back.
“There’s no hiding behind the fact that I didn’t perform for my team last year,” stated Gardner, who managed 120 runs and 7 wickets in eight matches in 2024. “I’m now playing with confidence, which is sometimes all that matters. I was able to come off a pretty good Ashes campaign with bat and ball and take the confidence,” she stated.
The Ashes collection noticed Gardner rating her first worldwide hundred (WODI) and end within the top-five for many runs and wickets regardless of sitting out the three T20Is.
Nonetheless, although particular person accolades assist, staff success stays her guideline. “Personal accolades are great, but if I can put my team in a winning position, whether it’s with bat and ball or in the field, that’s what drives me.
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“To win that series 16-0 (Two points for each of the three T20I and three ODI wins and four points for the one-off Test victory) was something that we never thought we were probably going to be able to do at the start. But to play the best cricket that we had for a very long time was pleasing to see,” she stated.
With an ODI Girls’s World Cup in India simply across the nook, Gardner believes the defending champion can retain the title. “Our chances are good. I still think we’re the best team in the world – there’s probably no denying that. We’ve played so much cricket here in India, so we have the experience,” she stated.
What’s going to assist Gardner is her present WPL kind. She has already surpassed her best-ever run tally with the bat – 213 runs in six matches – and is closing in on 10 scalps (7). “Taking part in in my third version of the WPL but in addition touring right here quite a bit for Australia, I’ve received used to the circumstances.
“Our chances are good. I still think we’re the best team in the world – there’s probably no denying that. We’ve played so much cricket here in India, so we have the experience.”Ashleigh Gardner
“Obviously, in T20 cricket, they’re going to be pretty conducive for batting, but in this edition of the WPL, there’s been a little bit in it for the bowlers as well. This WPL (2025) has probably been the most even in all of the editions,” stated Gardner, who feels that the match will profit farther from the elevated pool of home expertise.
“We’re seeing players from each team create a name for themselves. It’s exciting to see those young players shine on the biggest stage,” she stated, lauding GG’s Kashvee Gautam and Priya Mishra.
Although Gardner believes Australia’s home set-up remains to be on the forefront, India isn’t too far behind. “Our domestic players have been paid to play cricket over the last few years, which is an absolute luxury to have.
“To know that they can put a lot of time and effort into their game of cricket to be the best cricketers that they can potentially is one of the reasons why the WBBL is still at the forefront of the cricketing world for females,” Gardner stated, hoping the WPL will observe go well with.
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